I’ve already got in all the movies for the last two days of the Sundance Film Festival under my belt, so I figured I’d let you all know what I saw and how they were!
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande – This movie ended up being a lot of things I didn’t think it was going to be. And after it was over, I decided that it was unexpected in a good and enjoyable way. Right off the bat we meet Nancy, a woman who’s hired a male sex worker, Leo, in a hotel room. Leo exudes confidence and is so suave compared to Nancy’s frantic worrying. She can’t seem to come to terms with the fact that she’s decided to do this. At first you’re led to believe it’s because she never had an exciting life with her now deceased husband, but to me, by the end, it really seemed to be about confidence for her. Of course, it wouldn’t be a very exciting film if it was just singularly focused, so over the course of several meetings, Nancy starts picking away at the secrecy of Leo’s life. She definitely hits on some tender topics for him, but I think he gets as much out of the experience as her. At first I thought this film was going to be fairly modest, but by the end, let’s just say you see a lot of skin. A nice drama I hope more people get the chance to see someday.
Dual – When I saw Riley Stearns was premiering his latest film at Sundance, I jumped on getting a ticket without really giving the synopsis much of a read. I loved The Art of Self Defense so much that I was willing to go into this blindly. It was worth it! A very similar style, Karen Gillan plays Sam, a woman who is told she is going to die and that she should get a double so her passing is easier on her friends and family. Sadly, her friends consist of her seemingly uninterested boyfriend and aloof mother. She goes through with it anyways and then is told she’s in fact not going to die. Given that her double doesn’t want to be decommissioned, the two must duel to the death so there is only one Sam in the world. Lots of intense and goofy as hell training commences, also some fairly tender moments ensue. Sam is a bit two-dimensional, but I feel like that sort of comes with the manner of speaking in this film, but her desire to live produces some interesting results. Two scenes made me cackle so hard my sister asked me if I was alright, but all in all, this was another strong offering from Stearns.
Resurrection – This was a “midnight” selection, but with Rebecca Hall as the lead, I figured it was going to be a pretty entertaining ride. Also, it was a thriller more than a horror film (for the most part), so that appealed to me as well. Let’s just say this movie was a doozy. Sure, her and Tim Roth offered some first-rate acting, but the plot of this thing was bananas. My sister and I are fairly convinced we just didn’t get it, but with something that started with a lot of promise ended in a bit of a cluster. I couldn’t help myself but think of the chaos that the film mother! was while watching this, but at least that film was tied to something concrete. In this movie, Hall plays Maggie, a woman who has a pretty swanky life, but is shaken to her core when she sees someone at a conference that had a pretty detrimental impact on her life some 20-odd years ago. Now it seems like he’s back and as quietly menacing as ever. However, for as crazy as that guy seems, I was still thinking that maybe it was Maggie who was the delusional one. The ending took a turn for the unbelievable, which was disappointing. Unless, of course, it was all in her head. The way it ended though, I don’t think I’ll ever know. I imagine at some point, a seven-minute monologue that Hall delivers will makes its way to Youtube, so watch that instead of the film. The worst I’ve seen at the fest so far.
After Yang – I was a little hesitant to add this film to my Sundance watch-list, but people have been singing its praises for quite some time, so I decided to give it a go. Colin Farrell being in it also helped. Anyways, Jake and his wife bought a “brother” named Yang for their adopted daughter Mika so that she could learn more authentically about her Chinese heritage. Yang has become a very important member of their family until one day he just stops working. In an attempt to get Yang fixed, Jake is given Yang’s memory bank, so Jake secretly spends time going through Yang’s memories. Everything on the surface is really sweet, but you can tell based on certain interactions that Yang may be different than other robotic siblings out there. I won’t spoil the couple surprises that the film delivers, but overall this was a touching film about grief.